Behind the Hymn: Whispering Hope

No known story of the writing of this hymn is available, but the life of the author is very interesting.

Septimus Winner

Septimus Winner was born in 1827 Philadelphia to a violin maker father. He was the seventh child in the family, which is why they named him Septimus. By the age of twenty he was running his own music shop and had formed a music publishing company with his brother. He gave lessons on several instruments and performed around the city.

He wrote both sacred and secular music, including “Oh Where, Oh Where has my little dog gone?”

He was arrested for treason when he published “Give Us Back Our Old Commander: Little Mac, The People’s Pride,” over the firing of General George B. McClellan during the Civil War. The song sold over 80,000 copies in just days. In 1880, General Ulysses S. Grant rewrote the words for his campaign song.

Winner wrote thousands of musical arrangements, published numerous instructional books for various instruments, and continued to write sacred and secular pieces. He published a vast majority of his music under the pen name, Alice Hawthorne. The belief is that he did not “deem himself worthy to receive honor for the words he penned.”

Whispering Hope was based on Hebrews 6:19, Hebrews 12:1, and 1 Thessalonians 5:8. Published in 1868, this was the last popular song he wrote.

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Welcome to my virtual home. My goal is to help women who are hurting to discover that there is hope, faith and love regardless of what she may be dealing with.

I share encouragement through Life Application {including my personal struggles} and Biblical Application. I also incorporate my love of music and history into my site.

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